Psychopomp
by Kal-El Fornia
Summary: In the aftermath of the horrors of the nuclear bombs that had covered the Earth in fire, and in the aftermath of her life that had ended so violently, Betty learns that death isn't something to be afraid of. As she is guided throughout the afterlife, she learns that the Reaper isn't someone to be feared.
1. Crawling

I've always been fascinated with the mystical beings and lore of Adventure Time, as my short vignettes about the Lich and Hunson Abadeer have shown, but this time I decided to focus on Death.

I had to email the admins of this site to get Betty added as a character on this archive, but when the admins emailed me back that they finally added her I decided to post this story. I'm pretty psyched to be the first to write a Betty story on here.

Disclaimer: This is more tradition than anything, but Adventure Time ain't mine.

* * *

As she was hiding in the dark, no one else to keep her company, Betty had spent the better part of the night trying to shut out the screams that were beginning to seem never ending. She didn't have enough time to evacuate the city that she was in to escape the bombs, instead running into the basement of the building she was nearest to and curling up into a ball. She had felt the world shake when the bombs that had spent the last few months as only rumors finally fell.

Betty had not died in the initial blast, by the sound of other people wailing in pain all around her it seemed apparent that others had survived as well, but she felt herself becoming sick as the night went on. She didn't want to leave, knowing full well the dangers that she would put herself in with exposing herself to the fallout of a nuclear blast, but there was something in the back of her mind, something she was still too afraid to acknowledge, that maybe she hadn't escaped the fallout after all.

She was breathing heavily, she was sweating and felt as if her skin was burning off, and she hugged her knees closer to herself, wanting to be somewhere other than where she was. As she heard screams all around her, she wondered if anywhere else had been hit by bombs. Was it the end of the world? Was Simon still alive?

It was that thought that lingered in her mind as her chest began to heave with more difficulty with each breath she took. She didn't know how many other places had been struck by bombs, but what she did know was that it was horrifying. It wasn't a word that could truly describe the screams of agony that had been floating in the night, or the pain that her body was finally starting to succumb to, but horror was the only word that she could think of.

In a moment though, like a demon's whisper, everything was silent. Her skin stopped burning, her breathing becoming more stable, and she sat up as she watched the door of the basement she was in open up and close after somebody had walked in. After the person who had walked in flicked on the light switch, Betty backed away when she saw the visage of the creature that had just entered.

With the exception of a brown satchel that the creature was carrying, said creature having a body like a man almost, it was dressed all in white. She pressed her back against the wall because whoever or whatever this thing that now joined her was, it's head looked like it was a horse's skull. She closed her eyes as she heard the creature take more and more steps towards her, but opened them again when she felt it gently rest a hand on her head.

Instinctively she looked for his eyes, or whatever it was that was held within that horse's skull, but what she saw was something that she hadn't expected. He looked sad almost, as if he was pained to watch the wretchedness of her state, and there was something about him that put the horrors of the last few hours she had been through to rest. He was watching her tenderly, as if waiting for her to say something, and so she asked him what she was wishing was true.

"Are you here to save me?"

She held her breath as the creature took a moment to straighten out her messy hair. She watched as he stared at her for a few seconds, seemingly considering how he was going to answer, and when he spoke there was a certain aspect of his tone that surprised her.

"Not exactly," his voice hadn't been how she was expecting it to be, instead sounding more soothing anything else, and there was something to the way that he answered her that made her feel that despite what had happened, despite the screams of agony that had been her only connection to the rest of the world, that things would turn out okay, "but I am here to ease your pain."

"I'm scared."

Again she stared at the grisly visage of her visitor as he watched back at her in silent contemplation. She watched him sigh, not in frustration or boredom but instead in looked like disappointment. Just by looking at him she knew that this being wasn't of her world, but what she didn't know was whether or not this creature had some sort of stake in it.

"There are many things that may frighten you, but you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm only here to make sure that you stop being hurt."

She watched as the skeletal figure moved his hand away from her hand and instead held it out towards her, and she took it as he helped her up. There were so many things to be afraid of out in what she could only assume was now the wreckage of the world, but there was something about this other worldly being that made her feel safe. She felt the tiredness and the pain leave her body just as the fear had, and followed the skeletal being as he led her by the hand to the entrance of the basement she had been hiding in.

"Where are we going?"

As he opened the basement door what she saw wasn't the aftermath of some horrifying nuclear attack or the city that she had been previously strolling in before the bombs fell, but instead they were now exiting a cabin out into a mountainous area where she breathed in air that was cleaner than anything else she had inhaled in her entire life. The screams of the night were replaced with the chirping of birds, and when she turned back around to look at the creature once again she saw that he was finally smiling.

"Home."

* * *

This isn't a one-shot, and but I'm aiming for something short. Like five of these little chapters or so. Anyways, peace.


	2. Walking

This is part two of my five part miniseries. Hope you like it, it's about Betty and Death, obviously. I feel weird writing this since I honestly believe that Betty is actually the Lich in the show. Eh, whatever.

Disclaimer: Don't own Adventure Time.

* * *

To her, the mountains that they had spent the last few days traveling in was like walking through Dreamland. Betty had never expected death to be so peaceful, the sound of birds chirping riding on the wind being something that made it easier to come to terms with it, and as she walked side by side with the creature who had apparently reaped her soul, she began to wonder about him. She thought that she was going to be afraid of him, especially since he was a skeletal figure who had appeared to her the moment that she had died, but there was something about him that made her glad that it was this particular creature who had gone to her rather than something more malicious.

"Hey, I was wondering something if you don't mind my asking?"

"Yes?"

They were almost to the top of the mountain that they had spent the better part of the day hiking. She was a bit tired, though it was one of those invigorating sort of tireds that came about a person after a good work out. Simon had never particularly enjoyed long hikes like the one that she was currently on, instead always preferring to leisurely stroll along an already decided path. She frowned for a moment at the thought of Simon, and tried to ignore him once again. She wasn't sure if he had died or not, and she didn't want to think about it. Instead, she looked over at the creature once again, and spoke.

"Who are you? I mean we've been traveling together for a few days now, and I just realized that I still don't know your name."

"I have many names."

She knew that the creature wasn't trying to be funny, but she couldn't help but giggle anyways. She couldn't count the amount of times that she had heard that cliché before, and it was a nice reminder of what the world used to be before it had been covered in fire.

"What?"

"The whole 'I have many names' thing? Yeah, we've all heard that millions of times."

The creature looked down towards his feet as they hiked a little more with each step and heave of air, and to Betty it looked like he was debating something in his head. As frightening and grisly as his appearance, for the short time that she had known the creature, it had been nothing but kind to her. She remained quiet, and waited for it to respond to her.

"Some call me the Grim Reaper, others used to call me Hades or Charon. In India I am known as Mrtyu or Yamaraj, and to the people of the God of Abraham I am seen as the Angel of the Abyss. The Nordic people named me Valkyrie, and in Talmudic lore I am Samael or Abaddon. I am the jackal Anubis, and yet I am also Osiris. I have been feared as La Santa Muerte, and even more have cursed me as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Different religions and different cultures have different names for who they think I am, but no matter who they are, king or peasant, I shall escort all souls who have ever existed, just as I am escorting you."

What he said was ominous, she thought that she would have been rightly afraid if fear was exactly what she felt, but as they hiked up that mountainside under the brightly shining sun, the sound of birds all around them, the only thing she felt was peace.

"And what should I call you?"

"Call me Death. It's the name that makes the most sense."

Perhaps it was, she thought, and perhaps people had always been misguided in their opinions of the Reaper. She watched Death inquisitively, and there was something else that had been on her mind since she had left that basement she had died in, only to find herself in a beautiful mountainous area.

"Are we in Heaven?"

"Not precisely. This is just a passageway for our next destination. I've found that if I take people there without giving them time to adjust, that sometimes the experience is unpleasant for them."

"And where is this destination exactly?"

"The Land of the Dead."

"So, this isn't the Land of the Dead?"

"Technically, it's one of the Dead Worlds, so the answer to your question would be both a yes and a no. Think of it as going to the hostess of a restaurant, and following her instructions as she helps you get seated."

She nodded her head, understanding what Death had meant. Still, as Betty looked around at the sky, looked around at the beauty that she could only call Dreamland, she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to leave this particular Dead World.

"This seems like a pretty happy place for a Dead World."

"Is this not the sort of place where you wanted to settle down with Simon? A home in the mountains surrounded by chirping birds?"

"You know about Simon?"

"I know that he will give me trouble. His soul in particular will give me a bit of difficulty in reaping."

She wasn't sure what Death meant by that, and she looked away from him since she didn't want to be too hopeful.

"Is he still alive?"

"When it is time for him to walk by my side on this same path, I can bring him to you if you like."

His answer was vague, but Betty still inwardly breathed in a sigh of relief at the news about Simon. She wasn't sure about the state of the world or how much of a world was even left, but Simon was still alive and still out there. She had never been the religious sort, but she prayed that Simon would be okay.

"Why are you doing all this for me? Why are you helping me so much?"

Death said nothing at first, and simply pointed ahead. Time had gone by fast as they hiked, and she hadn't even realized that the two of them had reached the mountaintop. Eagles soared in the air all around them, birds chirped their soulful music, and the sun shone majestically above her. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Life isn't fair, so I've always thought that death should be instead."

* * *

Watch the show! Also, watch the Venture Bros.


	3. Jogging

I'm back with part 3 of 5. Sorry, I uploaded this yesterday, but I think that there was a problem that came up. When I tried to go to this story after the fact, the site didn't work. I'm not sure if that was just me or if that was for everyone, but I decided to just re-upload the chapter just to be safe. Annoying, eh?

Disclaimer: Don't own Adventure Time.

* * *

"Is there a God?"

They were walking through a path in the forest, a path that Betty was sure Death had taken with countless other people, and it was in this forest that she had asked a question that she had begun to struggle with in her time spent in the afterlife. As usual when it came to her questions, Death was silent as he debated how to answer her. Curious, Betty watched him, at the same time switching glances between him and the ground so that she wouldn't trip over any loose branches.

"Hmmm?"

"It's something that's been on my mind since I've died. I mean if you, Death, are real, and if the afterlife exists, could a God really be so farfetched?"

From what she gathered by his face, or at least as far as she could tell considering that her current companion had a horse's skull for a head, Death wasn't quite sure what to say to her. He stepped over brush that was in his way, taking the moment to sneak a peek at Betty, and she waited patiently for an answer as they walked in silence through that thick forest for about another minute.

"Tell me, Betty, when you were alive was there any particular religion that you followed?"

With that, it was her turn to answer a question that had been posed to her instead of the other way around. She looked away from Death, not quite comfortable with answering, but then she looked back at him as she prepared herself to speak. She had found the words easier than she thought that she would have, Betty being oddly comforted by the look in the watching eyes of Death. He, like she had been, seemed genuinely curious. Whatever she told him, she knew he would listen without condemning, or condoning.

"I was raised in a Christian home, but my family was pretty relaxed about it all. Once I was old enough I stopped going to church with the exception of days like Christmas. I never believed or anything like that, but now I'm not so sure."

"Is there a God? I wonder."

Frowning, Betty felt disappointed that the only time that Death hadn't had an answer prepared for her was when it seemed like the most important question that she could ever ask. It seemed strange to her that Death could be the Grim Reaper for as long as at least humanity had existed, and yet he still didn't have anything he could say to her about the topic. Honestly, she was a bit annoyed, and couldn't help but feel as if she wasn't the only person who had ever posed that question to the Reaper.

"So you don't know, then?"

Death stopped walking, and Betty only took a few more steps before she followed his lead. He yawned and stretched, having always found a drowsy sort of comfort when it came to forest scenery in his millennial long job of Valkyrie and divine chauffeur.

Cracking his back, and breaking some twigs that were scattered on the forest ground as he started walking again, Death decided to just tell Betty the only thing that had come to his mind. Just as she was physically following the path he gave her as he led her through the forest, he knew that she too would follow whatever path he gave her in this afterlife. He hoped that when it came down to it, that the path he set for her was the path that would lead her to happiness.

"When the Christians say that God is merciful they are correct, and when the Muslims say that Allah loves all his children they are also right. When the Buddhists strive for Nirvana and the peace that comes with it I admire them, and when people like you who don't believe in any religion live for the betterment of your fellow man, that too brings me joy."

It was a vague answer really, one that Betty wasn't exactly satisfied with. She appreciated what he said, but there was still something that troubled her.

"Will there be someone who judges me?"

He closed his eyes for a second as they walked, and tried to listen to all the animals in the forest. He heard chirping birds just as he had out in the mountains, for a moment he thought he heard some fawn rustling about somewhere out there in the wilds, and Death breathed in a sigh of comfort as he was completely positive about exactly what he was about to say.

"If there is someone who will judge and condemn, then I'm sure it isn't God."

"How can you be so certain?"

"I'm not. I may be very old, Betty, and I may have existed for at least as long as there has been life, but I know as much about God as you do. I don't know if He is some great force in the universe or even if He is even a 'he' at all. The only thing I'm completely certain of is if there is someone or something out there willing to condemn somebody to a world like that of Hunson Abadeer's, then that isn't the same someone or something that created this beautiful forest."

Sighing, Betty gave a smile to Death. He had still been vague, for example she didn't exactly know who this Hunson Abadeer person was, but he had still been reassuring. However, the smile faded the moment they finally walked out of that forest that they had seemingly taken days to wander through. She backed away a little when she saw that the shining forest they had been in led to a land of grayness and walking skeletons.

"What is that?"

She felt like turning back and running, but a sense of calm came over her when she felt that Death had reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

She had remembered the words that Death said from those Christmas services that she had attended long ago out of tradition. He gave a soft smile, obviously trying to reassure her, and she took a deep breathe and returned the smile back to him. Whether in this valley of his shadow, or in the shadow of Hunson Abadeer whom Death had told her nothing about, she would fear no evil. God, whoever or whatever that was, was with her.

* * *

The concept of God might be a bit alienating to some, but I felt I did okay in making it all inclusive, while also avoiding offending anyone. Hopefully. Next time around we'll actually get to see some parts of the Land of the Dead that will seem familiar from the show.


	4. Running

Part 4 of 5, just one update left to go after this.

Disclaimer: This is a dumb tradition, especially since disclaimers are completely pointless, but I find them sort of endearing, so that's I use. Don't own Adventure Time.

* * *

"Drink the water," the talking skull by her feet kept telling her, Betty being smart enough to not quite heed its request just yet.

She had found the Land of the Dead to be not as frightening as she had imagined that it would be, although, there was still an easiness that she felt whenever she saw one of the walking skeletons that kept following her and Death from the shadows where the skeletons had felt positive that they were out of her sight. However, they weren't, and every time Betty looked in the direction of one of them, she felt that there was something that they wanted from her.

Ignoring them, she and Death were standing just off to the side of a bridge, staring at the river that flowed in front of them. It was water that the talking skull apparently wanted her to drink, and as she looked at the water, she wondered if maybe that wasn't such a bad idea, after all. Before she wouldn't have ever thought to even think about taking advice from a skull of all things, though before she also didn't believe in the supernatural either, but her time spent in the afterlife had taught her that things or people weren't always what they appeared to be.

"Is the water safe?" Betty asked quietly, not taking her eyes off the river that had somehow enchanted her.

"That depends on your definition of safety," Death responded, also watching the river that had taken so many memories in the time that it had been there.

"What do you mean?"

She still didn't look at him, still wanting to maybe actually go through to the skull's request, and she remained quiet, just as Death was, and listened closely to the flowing water in front of her. The sound it made reminded her of the mountains where Death had taken her to when he had first reaped her, it also reminded her of the forest in which they taken a stroll, and it had a sort of calming aura about it, even in this Dead Land that she found herself in.

"I don't think it's something that you want," Death finally said after the silence that had come over Betty and himself. Her soul was rather pleasant compared to many of the others that were his duty to reap, and he thought that it would be a shame for the water's effect to claim her mind.

Hearing this, Betty couldn't help but look towards Death and laugh. She wasn't sure if that was concern that she heard in his voice, especially considering the inconceivable number of souls and the dead whom Death had encountered due to his job, but she found comfort in the fact that maybe the old Valkyrie actually had a smidgen of care for what happened to her. Though, she felt that it didn't actually matter in the long run, of course taking into account the fact that her life had already ended.

"What's the worst that can happen? I'm already dead, you know?"

Frowning, Death thought for a moment and didn't say anything in return. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, and as such he knew that there were certain things that could happen to a soul that were much worse than simply dying. All he had to do was think about the great Hunson Abadeer and his realm of chaos, and the unimaginable horrors that the denizens of that world were subjugated to.

Abadeer had more than once tried to claim what was his duty to guide, and although Death gotten the better of the Lord of Evil on most occasions, with the exception of not yet finding a way to somehow reap the deathless one, there were times where certain beings had made bargains wagering their souls that he had been forced to allow. He hated the everlasting torment that he knew Abadeer would put them through, and as he pushed the thought out of his mind, he finally met glances with Betty. She was intelligent, but she was still just a mortal, and Death hoped that she would never learn about the things that were worse than the death she had already experienced from the bombs that had covered the Earth in fire.

"This is the River of Forgetfulness. The water that flows through here will make all your memories, happy or sad, go away."

Moving her attention away from Death and back to the river, Betty bent down to get a better look at the flowing water. She wasn't as frightened as she had been since she found out that she was dead, but she couldn't deny the fact that her mind went to dark places when she wasn't preoccupied with one thought or another.

The last night of her life after the bombs fell were spent in the dark, listening to the screams of people in the city that were never ending. If the river's water could in fact make her forget all of that darkness and all of that suffering, she thought that maybe it was worth taking a drink? However, just as she was about to decide to cup some water to bring to her mouth, she realized that there was something else she would also forget if she decided to take a drink. She would forget about Simon.

There were things that she wanted to never have to dream about again, to never have to remember, but giving up Simon wasn't worth that price. Finally standing up, Betty took a deep breath and spoke, "Is there anything else that you wanted me to see?"

It would have been a lie if Death were to say that he wasn't happy about Betty's decision, and instead of answering her he began to walk away from the river and to the bridge they needed to cross to get to the other side. She followed him as the two of them walked in a comfortable silence, and the moment that Death's shining palace came into view he saw that Betty's eyes too began to shine, metaphorically of course. It was something that made him smile, and it was moments like this that made him be thankful for his job.

* * *

Introspective? I hope so. Anyways, I'm almost done here. Nice chapter will be at the palace, and it will also be the last update that I'm doing for this here thing. See you next time, folks.


	5. Flying

Okay, we're at the end. I liked writing this mini-project that I have here, and I feel perfectly fine that this is an okay place to stop. I'm not sure if it feels like an 'ending', but I think that it does.

Disclaimer: Out of tradition, don't own Adventure Time.

* * *

When Betty had first seen Death's shining palace she had been filled with a grand sense of awe, and rightfully so considering how elaborate it looked on the outside. It was almost to the point of being gaudy in her opinion, just missing that definition by a tiny margin, but still she thought that the palace had been a beautiful sight to behold. This being more true once she took in the interior of Death's home.

Unlike the outside which had been something grandiose and magnificent, the inside of the palace where they now were was something completely simple. There was a stage that had all sorts and varieties of different kinds of instruments, for a purpose which she didn't know why, but other than that the only other thing that Death had around that was of any significance was his zen garden. The zen garden wasn't anything to be impressed with, except if one was an aficionado of Eastern mysticism, but as Betty stood in the zen garden she felt as if the garden added a sort of quiet and quaint charm to it all.

When she had been alive she had been surrounded by people who were in many respects just like Death's palace. On the outside they would be over dramatic and theatrical and flashy to the point of being almost tacky, but on the inside where no one else could see, they would be something calm and reserved instead. On the inside, which Betty could apply to her own life as well, there was no need for anything grandiose and specular for others to see, but the inside was a place, like Death's garden, where a person could be happy and be exactly who they wanted to be; something quiet and tranquil, uncomplicated and without judgment.

"Death?"

He had been tending to his Zen Garden, leaving Betty to take in all the scenery around her. For the most part it had been rather plain and very understated compared to what she would have expected looking at the palace from the outside, with the exception of the bones that littered the interior. Had Betty been witness to her current setting when she had been alive she honestly thought that she would not have been able to handle all the macabre imagery, but now as she was standing in the middle of it all in the Land of the Dead, and since her companion that had been guiding her throughout this Dead World had been the Lord of Death himself, Betty felt an odd sort of comfort standing in it all.

"Is there something that you need?"

She felt like basking in the sun, something that she hadn't done even in life since she had always been a tad bit too self-conscious to engage in an activity like that, but now that she was dead there was a part of her that wanted to just let go of her insecurities and all of her hesitations. Granted, the Land of the Dead wasn't exactly the best place for her to finally begin being more footloose, but either way she knew that Simon would be proud of her.

She frowned at that thought of Simon though, considering how things had been left off between them. She looked at the Valkyrie who still had his back to her, and Betty sighed since Simon and his future was what had been tugging at the back of her mind since she had been reaped. Even though she was dead and even though Simon had somehow survived the bombings that had taken her own life, there was a part of her that wondered if perhaps something of their future still remained for them? Not even the nuclear weapons that had covered the Earth in fire would ever be able to erase that particular hope.

"Is Simon still alive?"

Death paused what he was doing for a moment, but he still didn't look Betty's way. He had told her once before that Simon would give him difficulty when it came to his job of reaping all once living things, and it was something that Death had meant. The whole time that he had been guiding Betty, he knew that Simon Petrikov would live millennium more than what was due to him.

"If you're worried about that, I told you that I would bring him to you when it is his turn to stand before the light. I honestly don't know when Simon is going to die since right now there's a little girl who needs him more than anything else in the world, but you don't have to worry about me forgetting. I made a promise, Betty, and I always keep my promises."

She didn't quite know how to take Death's comment, but as she began to sit down instead of standing as she was, she began to ponder more on it. She was happy that Simon was still alive and that he had been able to survive the nuclear holocaust that had taken most of mankind, but there was a part of her that wasn't sure whether or not if that was actually a good thing. He was still breathing, but she couldn't even imagine how hellish an irradiated world could be.

"When Simon dies, can you make sure that he doesn't feel any pain?"

He still hadn't resumed going back to tending his zen garden, because there was something about the way that Betty spoke. Her voice had the sadness and worry that he had expected to hear, and there was also a twinge of regret that he picked up on as well, but the thing that made Death think the most was the hint of maybe something content in her voice as well. He couldn't tell if the contentment that he heard was because Simon was alive, or if it was because Betty hoped that he would heed her request, but for the first time since they had entered his palace, Death turned around to look at Betty.

"If there is something that I can do to ease his pain just as I have eased yours, I'll do my best, Betty. I promise."

His words seemed to comfort the woman who had spent most of her time in the afterlife in contemplation, and when she smiled at him he returned said smile. He always kept his promises.

* * *

**End. **No more updates, complete, etc. To those of you who read this, cool. Thanks for taking your time.

For now I think I might be done with Adventure Time stories, probably to focus more on Fallout to be honest, but hey I might come back. I considered making _The Devil and Simon Petrikov _a mini-project like this one, but I think I'm deciding against it for now. I'll probably be back.

Peace be upon you.


End file.
